The Ancients World

Chapter 318: Making Plans

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~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Temporary Home, Border City)~~~

~~~(Time: 8:45 AM)~~~

Sally rests in my arms, and I fear that she's fallen asleep again. We have a lot of research and planning to do today. We really shouldn't have indulged in one another last night. I'm not physically tired, but mentally... I'm still wanting a couple more hours of sleep. "Sally... You need to wake up... We have things to do today..." My gentle stirs wake her. Her eyes flutter open and meet mine.

She smiles and reaches a hand up, and runs her fingers across my face. She isn't going to move, is she... My arms find new places on her body, and I lift her in my arms. She coils her arms around my neck for more security. "Since you're the genius planner, what are we doing first to get past the border?" I've heard rumors and whispers about a place.

My knowledge from my past life isn't going to be obsolete when it comes to making plans to get across the border. "I've got some ideas, but Hailey and Jasmine should be present before I start making plans. Who knows, maybe one of them also has a good idea themselves." Jasmine and Sally are great resources of knowledge for Gaia.

While they may not know much about the elven kingdom, Sally has helped me greatly with the things she knows. It's a bonus that's she's over a hundred years old. She knows more than most mortal men and women. I carry her all the way back to the... Well, living room. We're both fully dressed now. We get looks from Hailey and Jasmine as we enter.

Hailey releases a long sigh as she scoots over, and I place Sally in the ow vacant spot. I'm going to continue standing so I can discuss what we're doing. "First things first, I'd like to apologize for what happened this morning. That wasn't an appropriate or mature way to handle that..." It's awkward saying sorry to a group of people.

Sally has already forgiven me, and I apologized earlier when we were alone, but doing it publicly can help. "You surprise me, little brother. I didn't think you'd apologize to us, not saying you shouldn't have, but still a nice thing to see." Her mocking grin makes me remember all the times we would mock each other back on earth. Those are memories I haven't thought of in a while.

Sally can't help snickering at the obvious poke at me, and there are many responses that I have to that. Sadly, I have to let it go. We need to discuss plans. "Very funny, sister. Let's not start that today. Now let's go over the plan that I've come up with. If any of you have something to add, speak up." Who knows what kind of information anyone has to offer.

Any little bit helps with something this complicated. They're all waiting for me to start, and I take a small breath. "The main thing we need to do is find a woman by the name of Helda Vora. She's an elf smuggler here in the border city. The main problem is I don't know where she is." Normally, I would know something like this.

This isn't the case since I've never been in the Elven Kingdom and thus never needed her to smuggle me in. All I know is she's capable of bringing people in and out of the Elven Kingdom. "You're certainly not making it easy, but there are some places in the city we can look..." To my surprise, Jasmine is the first to speak.

~~~(POV: Jasmine)~~~

~~~(Location: Temporary Home, Border City)~~~

~~~(Time: 8:58 AM)~~~

While I don't have much to offer in this situation, I did hear some things the day we got here. "I heard there is a hidden tavern under the city. If this Helda woman would be anywhere, that's my best bet..." Criminals and other types of non-functioning members of society usually have places like this in popular or frequently traveled cities and areas.

The look on Cera's face is filled with thought and contemplation, a similar look I see on Hailey from time to time. "The tavern under the city won't be easy to get to... We'll likely need to know someone that can vouch for us... We don't want to reveal our identities to get a free pass..." That all seems logical to me. If they knew who Hailey was when we go down, they'd let her through.

Finding someone to vouch for us isn't practical, in my opinion, and a complicated plan leads to complicated problems to solve. "Is there any other way to get into the Elven Kingdom? This seems like a mess waiting to happen..." Hailey voices what I'm thinking. Cera doesn't immediately retort with a no. He's thinking about the possibilities.

He lets out a short and sharp sigh and rubs his forehead, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Sadly, there isn't. Helda Vora is the only known smuggler that takes non-elves through the borders. But maybe... We can get her to come to us instead of us going to her..." Now that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Instead of having to go through that long process, we can completely avoid it.

We're all quiet as we think of an idea on how to do it. Sally is the first to speak up. "Well, she is a criminal, right?" Cera nods his head in a brief motion. "Wouldn't the promise of a high payment draw her to us? If we pay more than her regular customers, then shouldn't that be enough of a reason to come to us?" Cera folds his arms and closes his eyes.

After a few seconds of debating it in his mind, he shakes his head. "Helda Vora is a criminal and likes money, but she doesn't take strangers. Not without something big on the line. It has to be more than just gold..." A woman like Helda probably has more gold than she knows what to do with. Something else of value seems the next best thing.

~~~(POV: Hailey Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Temporary Home, Border City)~~~

~~~(Time: 9:06 AM)~~~

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this, but it seems like I have no choice. "I have something that might interest her..." Everyone's eyes turn to me, and I open my Inventory to pull the item out. "It's called Fotis Moreal, and it's a Legacy Grade Dagger. I can't use it cause it's a smuggler exclusive item..." I could never use it, and it's serving no purpose to me.

This is the best way to use the item. Cera gives a huge smile and holds his hand out. I toss him the dagger, and he inspects it. "Wow... I heard stories about Fotis Moreal, but this is amazing." We all look at him for an explanation of the story. "Long story short, this belonged to a famous smuggler that played an important role in many wars during her lifetime." Now that's pretty cool.

If I were a betting girl, I'd say the dagger is named after her. "The dagger belonged to Jotis Moreal, the father of Leia Moreal. The owner of this dagger, it's said that the dagger was named after Jotis Moreals wife, Fotis Moreal." Close enough, I'm surprised that he knows so much about this item. He knows a lot about things many shouldn't.

I'm still planning on asking him about how he knows all these things and why his knowledge is superior to everyone else's. "Seems like we found the item to draw Helda Vora to us. Now what?" Sally is the next to bring up the important step that'll make this succeed or fail. Getting the word to Helda Vora that we have Fotis Moreal.

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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]

[Exp: 3/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Sally's Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl.77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]